Want to get +50% more? Follow these tricks

The Salon industry is big and dynamic. Undoubtedly, it is growing rapidly- I checked out the recent figures and found out that it will reach $87 billion USD by 2023.

Surprising, right? But, one thing is evident: the future is demanding more competition. 

Therefore, attaining +50% new salon customers and improving salon customer retention rates become challenging for many businesses. Mostly those who have not implemented powerful yet smart tricks. 

If you are in the beauty and wellness industry, then, you must have made several action plans. Your presence on this page confirms that they are not successful. 

However, there are many like you who are not playing smartly, instead simply testing the tricks if they can give fruitful results.  Dear, business is not about testing and playing! It is a job that demands your quick and steady attention to gain new salon customers at the door. 

Coming back to the points, this article will summarize all the effective strategies that you must implement in your Salon. I assure you you will achieve the expected results for sure. So, check them all out!

How do attract new salon customers?

#1. Get Your Salon On  “Google My Business”

Basically, 97% of users search for local businesses. However, from this, 83% of them are carried out on Google only. In contrast to this, it is analyzed that 64% of customers prefer Google My Business (GMB) to search. Simply, it means that an excessive percentage of them are finding your competitors while searching “Salon near me”.  Of course, you do not like them to move there. So, there is no harm in getting your business listed and getting potential customers to your beauty business. 

The GMB profile confirms that whenever any customer will search for Salon, simply, they can approach you ( online or in-person). All you have to do is to:

• Complete every section on the profile

Consequently, this act will not let you lose any customers. This is because they were searching for other businesses listed with details in one place.

Regularly updating the information is important.  This is because when someone searches for you Salon does not face any inconvenience to approach you. Your phone number, change of location, email address, etc. must get updated. 

• Integrate the booking link

From this link, the customers can quickly book with you simply from your listing. In case, you have implemented salon booking software then, the task is quite easy for you. With the support of help of reserve with google,  the booking link can be incorporated.  

#2. Let the referral program do a bit of hard work

Give your existing customers the rewards of referring their friends and family to your Salon. Offer free products, discounts, Money off or discounts, free consultation, and products or the services they usually take. Without any doubt, it is the best and most profitable way to fill your Salon seats and enhance customers’ loyalty to your business.  

Though, referral programs when done right then can be your key to converting a struggling business into a successful one. There is some research that has confirmed that this approach ensures that 18% of the salon customers stay loyal to your business for long. 

Certainly, for giving the rewards in exchange for a referral, you need to follow some tactics. Know the time and cost the service is taking. Of course, giving services that are expensive and time-consuming as a gift is not a profitable approach. Contrarily, do not delay giving rewards to the customers. Letting them wait till they will not complete 8 referrals is not going to work. But, asking them to refer 2 and get a free manicure and pedicure will work.

#3. Promote gift cards

For improving your Salon business ROI, giving gift certificates or cards comes out to be a powerful approach. From the statistics, it is clear that the global market will experience $440.7 billion in business by 2027.

By permitting the existing customers to buy gift certificates for their loved ones, there will not be only more customers at your salon business, but, the sales will increase. In addition to this, you will receive full payment quickly.  For convincing the customers to purchase gift certificates from you, ensure them that they are the first ones to accept the offer.

Use the counter, salon counters, emails, SMS, and website to advertise the gift cards. Allow your staff members or stylists to help in promoting. Let your customers purchase it easily, you can choose the option of e-gifting.  Use your Salon website and make it easy for them to buy the gift certificates from their only.  

Moreover, you can also give them a discount on their purchases, possibly, a $120 gift card for $80.  In addition to this, use social media to make visitors aware of what you are offering. 

#4. Harness Social Media to Advertise Salon

Networking is important when it is getting +50% new salon customers at your Salon. And, social media is the best possible way to do so. Assure that your salon business is active on Facebook and Instagram. In addition,  LinkedIn is also the social media handle where the information can be shared and useful information can be gained.  

But, you need to find out where your customers are spending most of the time. After knowing so, below are the strategies that you need to follow:  

1. Arrange the fun activities

It is the very first option to attract a high amount of customers to your Salon. Post the images related to services to make the profile mediocre and monotonous. You can choose to make it different and more influential by:

• Remain live while practicing and ask the audience to give their feedback on the same. Accordingly, this will give them an idea of how inspirational you are and also showcase the skills you have. 
• Also, you can carry out live interviews with your customers and staff members and give a tour of your premises, arrange fun activities and make videos, and share your experience on using products, skincare, etc.
• Ask queries to the customer and know their feedback. Below are some of the questions you can ask:
• What can be followed when..
• When is the home remedy for..
• What hair and skin products you are using
• Ask them to resolve some puzzles
• What is the right sequence of make-up
• What is the routine of skincare you are following

Arrange contests to your benefit. Things such as Tag your friends, comment to get the prize, those who will win get.. and so on. Accordingly, you can gain more visitors to your social media profile and increase business visibility. 

     2. Include trending and unique hashtags

Hashtags are the means to improve your reach. Let the interested customers reach you easily and get more business attention. The tendency of visitors is to check the posts that include the same hashtags. But, follow the below points to get the exact amount of engagement:

• Use the hashtag that is more suitable. Using many hashtags is not advisable; they appear untidy and crowded. The Instagram platform enables you to use 30 hashtags for a post. On the other hand, you can use a lot of hashtags on Twitter.
• Do research properly about the trends and always include local hashtags. Create a list of location-related hashtags to use again and again to engage the target visitors. Also, it is advisable not to use the many popular hashtags; cause they will not make the post different from others. Additionally, do not include less researched hashtags as these will not decrease the post visibility. Rather, categorize the hashtags by means of features, moods, problems, locations, interests. etc. 
• Integrate a single comprehensive hashtag with some targeted hashtags. 

    3. Create a community

A community contributes to the success of the brand, increases awareness, and is a path to Getting Better Feedback From Salon Customers. The social native believes that social media is the valuation method for organic research.  The reason is that it doesn’t influence people’s sincerity in responding like standard focus communities. All you have to follow the below steps:

• Create different social media groups, and publish only engaging, informative and relevant content.
• Do not bound the profile, let others showcase their content. Monitor the pain points,  look for suggestions, and find ways of improving. 
• Let the community get involved in the decision, and assure them that you value their opinions. 

#5. Integrate Salon Booking Software

In this modern world, following the traditional or manual ways of scheduling appointments is not recommended at all.  Now the users are using online mediums for their day-to-day activities. Hence, as a salon owner, it is essential for you to include a smart solution.  Primarily, it streamlines the booking process for customers and staff members as well.  

The surveys have revealed that 25% of customers prefer booking online and there are 35% like to book their appointments after office hours. That is to say, if your beauty business does not have cloud-based salon software, then, you are losing a large percentage of customers.

The best part of using software for Salon booking is that you can reduce no-shows to a much extent and decrease the occurrence of last-minute cancellations.  Using it, the customers can book their appointments online at their convenience, and check the staff schedule and available time slots.   Hence, the chaos of calling for confirming the appointments is totally eliminated. 

In addition to that, the software also shows the recent reports, stock levels, staff performance, multi-location accessibility, etc. If you are looking for a solution, then, give Salonist a try. It is an all-in-one cloud-based salon software that aims to make managing the tasks hassle-free. 

#6. Ask Customers For Feedback

Online feedback works the same as word-of-mouth.  Indeed, it is a productive approach to engaging customers. To use feedback to your benefit, work on them.

What you need to do is that you have to ask your customers to give their feedback on the service given. Emails, SMS, or social media channels can be used for the same. Remember the reviews could be positive and negative. 

Of course, positive reviews make you happy but do not get offended by the negative ones. If you are using the Salon software then, an instant notification will be received when someone has a positive or negative comment. The best thing is that you can revert instantly and improve.  Below are key points of your consideration:

• Do not reply harshly to the negative review
• Assure customers can discuss their views offline
• Reply to positive feedback as well
• Never feel hesitate to ask customers for feedback

Concluding Remarks

Searching for new salon customers is not a breeze. It requires regular efforts and the implementation of the best strategies. The strategies that I have mentioned above are effective and best to my knowledge. But, you need to be patient to check out the results. Believingly, positive results are assured. 

Do you know other strategies to gain customers? Have you implemented the above-mentioned? How is your experience? Share your views with us!